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Goosander (Mergus merganser) Alternate name(s): Race "americanus": "Common Merganser" German name(s): "Gänsesäger" Size: 58-72 cm; wing span 78-97 cm Weight: 0.9-2.1 kg

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Goosanders are large diving ducks. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Goosanders in breeding plumage have an all-black head and upper neck. Also the back is black. The entire front and the lower neck are all-white. The inner half of the upperwings is also mostly white, while the outer half is dark-grey. While folded, the wings show as a white bar along the sides of the body. The rump and tail are vermiculated grey. Female Goosanders have a brown head and upper neck with a white chin patch and black lores. They also have a brown crest that can be partly erected when excited. The front and lower neck are creamy to off-white. The sides, back and the inner upperwings are vermiculated grey. The outer half of the wings are darker grey. The wings also have a narrow black bar next to a broad white trailing bar, both of which show while the wings are folded. Male Goosanders in eclipse plumage resemble females, but with a large white wing patch. The irises of both sexes are dark. The bill is orange-red, with concave upper mandible, a down-curved tip and serrated edges. The legs and feet are orange. Juvenile Goosanders also resemble females, but with pale facial markings, in particular horizontal white stripes under the eyes.

Taxonomy, classification See Goosander (Common Merganser) at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Goosander (Common Merganser) is available HERE . There are 3 races of Goosanders, two of which are partly migratory. They are found in large parts of Eurasia and North America and in Iceland (for details see e.g. Wikipedia ). The range of nominate race "merganser" extends from Iceland, via parts of Europe, into all of mid-latitude Asia. Their breeding range goes up to roughly the Arctic circle, while they spend the winters in temperate to subtropical regions. Race "americanus" (the Common Merganser) is found in North America. They are permanent residents along the West coast of the United States and in the Rocky Mountains, in areas where water does not freeze during winter, and around the Lawrence River system, from the American East coast to the Great Lakes. Otherwise they are found as breeding migrants in the southern half of Canada and in southern Alaska, while they spend the winters in the United States (except the coastal fringe of the Gulf of Mexico) and in the north-western corner of Mexico. Race "orientalis" resides the central Asian mountain regions, in far-western China and the western neighbouring countries, and is not migratory. In Europe Goosanders are partly migratory. They are found primarily to the North of the Alps, in central and western Europe, extending their range during the summer northwards and eastwards. Permanent populations exist in northern Germany and north-western Poland, in southern, near-coastal areas of Scandinavia, in the French/Swiss border region, in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall and in the eastern half of Ireland. They are found as winter visitors in the eastern half of England, throughout central Europe, from northern France in the West to Austria and the Czech Republic in the East, anywhere to the North of the Alps, in areas adjacent to the permanent populations mentioned above. There are also wintering grounds in the Adriatic Sea, in the Bosporus area and around parts of the Black Sea and of the Caspian Sea. In summer, Goosanders extend their breeding range into western Ireland from the eastern part of the island, and into all of Scandinavia and all of eastern Europe, northward of about 50 degrees latitude and up to roughly the Polar circle. Goosanders are found around both fresh water and salt water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "merganser" D. Wilczynska reports spotting Goosanders, nominate race "merganser", along the river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in April 2017. M. Eaton reports finding Goosanders, nominate race "merganser", at Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, in June 2018. H. Dahlem-Senger spotted Goosanders, nominate race "merganser", on the river Rhine, between Ruedesheim and Eltville, Hessen, Germany, in February 2023.

Photos

Race "merganser"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Lateral view of a male Goosander in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a male Goosander in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a male Goosander in breeding plumage; note how, depending on the angle of the impinging sunlight, the bill can look black (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Covey of male Goosanders in various stages of moulting from breeding plumage into eclipse
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a male Goosandr moulting into non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Goosander (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]

PAIR

Pair of Goosanders; male in breeding plumage on the left, female on the right (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]

Pair of Goosanders; male in breeding plumage on the left, female on the right (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, April 2017]

Female Goosander, right, with two males in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[River Rhine, between Eltville and Ruedesheim, Germany, February 2023]

Small covey of Goosanders; males in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[River Rhine, between Eltville and Ruedesheim, Germany, February 2023]

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